Pat Collins, head of Thrills in the Irish Hills, unveiled plans for the inaugural “Thrills in the Irish Hills Bike Festival” to be held July 12-14 throughout a tri-county area involving Hillsdale, Jackson and Lenawee counties that includes the city of Jackson.

“This is not just a bike festival. We look at it as a festival that’s going to appeal to classic car owners, to family members from out of town,” Collins said. “It really is a community event that we hope brings tens of thousands of people into the greater Irish Hills area.”

The press conference, which took place at Daryl’s Downtown, was attended by state Reps. Earl Poleski, R-Spring Arbor Township, and Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, as well as several county commissioners.

“I believe, if everybody will engage it, this can become the ArtPrize of the Jackson and Irish Hills area within three years,” Shirkey said, referring to the Grand Rapids event that’s become a destination point for art lovers.

Added Poleski: “We’re looking forward to visitors coming to Jackson to have a good time. We’ll make sure they’re safe and well taken care of.”

Shirkey added he expects the state legislature to eliminate Michigan’s mandatory helmet law for motorcycle riders in time for the festival.

“I think this (festival) is going to get a big boost between now and when this event occurs, because it is my strong prediction that legislature is finally going to get through a no-helmet law for Michigan,” he said. “When that happens, it opens the door and says ‘Welcome to all our brothers and sisters from states where there are already no-helmet laws.’”

Collins said the festival will include numerous small festivals in the communities of the Irish Hills area. He plans to begin reaching out to communities and organizations in the coming days. He’s already working with bike festival Wheels of Thunder.

Collins said the festival is privately funded and he hopes to include as many small-business owners as possible.

A big part of the festival will include concerts at the Jackson County Fairgrounds on July 13 and 14, the latter of which will be a double-bill show featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd and Paul Rodgers, formerly of Bad Company and Queen. Collins said he was “close” to finalizing two more acts for a July 13 show.

Ticket information will be announced sometime in mid-March. However, Collins said tickets will be “40 to 50 percent less” than tickets to festivals with similar entertainment.

Plans are in place to bring in equipment, including a custom-built stage, which will allow the fairgrounds to accommodate upwards of 20,000 people. The permanent grandstand seats about 6,500, Collins said.

Jackson County Fairgrounds Operations Manager Denise Owens is thrilled to have the fairgrounds be a central part of the festival.

“We’ve been saying for a long time that we need to utilize the fairgrounds for more than one week out of the year,” she said. “Between Rockapalooza and now this event, as well as a variety of other events, we’re doing more of that.”

Both Poleski and Shirkey lauded Collins’ initiative.

“This is precisely how these kinds of things should work in Michigan,” Shirkey said. “An innovator has an idea, and instead of going to government and looking for a handout to execute it, he or she decides to put their nose to the grindstone.”